Two proposals, both sponsored by House Speaker Beth Harwell, R-Nashville, and Sen. Kerry Roberts, R-Springfield, call for work requirements for “able-bodied” adults without young children who are on TennCare.(Photo11: Larry McCormack / The Tennessean)

Health care stakeholders on Monday called two bills that would require some TennCare recipients to work in order to receive benefits "a bad idea," saying the proposals are too vague and could endanger some Tennesseans who need help.

“The idea of work requirements is specifically appealing,” said James Powers, chair of the Council on Aging of Middle Tennessee's legislative and advocacy committee. “Everybody, including Tennesseans who get their health insurance through TennCare, believes that people should work if they can, but it turns out to be a really bad idea for many practical reasons. The facts show it to be pointless, an intrusive mandate that would grow government bureaucracy and waste taxpayer dollars.”

Powers, along with YWCA of Nashville and Middle Tennessee President Sharon Roberson, Tennessee Disability Coalition Director Carol Westlake and Prevent Child Abuse Tennessee Director Kristen Rector all spoke out against the bills on Monday.

The proposals, both sponsored by House Speaker Beth Harwell, R-Nashville, and Sen. Kerry Roberts, R-Springfield, call for work requirements for “able-bodied” adults without young children who are on TennCare, the state's Medicaid program.

One bill relates to TennCare health savings accounts and the other to TennCare more broadly.

But other than alluding to the standards of the federal government’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which works with states to administer Medicaid, there is no specific definition provided as to who would fall under that category.

In a statement distributed after she announced the legislation, Harwell, who is running for governor, has said the measure was an effort to lift people out of poverty.

The stakeholders said the measures are overly intrusive for people already granted TennCare, and implementing the requirements would be costly.

Powers referenced a fiscal review committee's prediction that only about 22,300 Tennesseans of the roughly 300,000 currently on TennCare would be impacted by the new requirements. The rest, per Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services guidance, are already working, have young children, are elderly or disabled, or fall under other exemptions.

The fiscal note that says the measure will cost the state about $646,000 during the next fiscal year and about $18.7 million annually in the following years, mainly due to the need for additional personnel.

While the state could save money from TennCare enrollees being dis-enrolled, the note says the amount saved is uncertain due to federal approval of the requirements.

“I think that one of the most significant barriers we see in people with chronic conditions, chronic illnesses and often times disabilities is a stamina issue,” Westlake said. “If you could get to work, even a job that may involve being at a desk can be really, really difficult.”

Reporter Joel Ebert contributed to this report.

Reach reporter Jordan Buie at 615-726-5970 or by email at jbuie@tennessean.com. Follow him on Twitter @jordanbuie.